Mogadishu fighting worst in 15 years - Red Cross

Insurgents shot down a helicopter gunship in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and mortar shells slammed into a hospital today in the worst fighting the beleaguered capital has seen in more than 15 years.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded since yesterday, when the government and allied Ethiopian troops launched an offensive to quash an increasingly brutal insurgency by Islamic militants. A statement from the International Committee of the Red Cross said the people of Mogadishu are caught up in the worst fighting in more than 15 years.

“Residents are fleeing in all directions to escape the shelling,” said Khalif Mohamed Mumin, who was abandoning his home in search of safety early today.

The exact number of casualties was unclear due to the chaos in the capital. Hospitals were overwhelmed and corpses were scattered in the streets. Doctors said up to 30 people may have died by early today. The ICRC said more than 220 were wounded in the past 24 hours, most them civilians with bullet, grenade and other shrapnel wounds.

Mogadishu resident Abdi Hussein Aboke said he saw 10 bodies in the street today, all apparently civilians. “Some were lying in alleys between houses while others were lying on the streets,” he said.

Earlier today, an Associated Press reporter said an anti-aircraft missile hit an Ethiopian helicopter that had been bombing insurgent positions.

“The helicopter looked like a ball of smoke and fire before crashing,” said Ruqiya Shafi Muhyadin, who watched as the helicopter rolled over in the sky and went down in a residential area near the airport.

Dr Mohamed Dhere, speaking from an underground room, said three mortar shells hit Alhayat hospital, injuring a doctor and a staff member.

“Since early this morning I have been hiding here from the mortar shells so I can’t help rescue people. I urge the two sides to respect health facilities,” Dhere said.

Somalia has seen little more than anarchy for more than a decade. The government, with crucial support from Ethiopian troops, only months ago toppled the Council of Islamic Courts, the militia that had controlled Mogadishu for six months.

However, insurgents with links to the Islamic group have staged attacks nearly every day on government and Ethiopian troops. Last week, a cargo plane carrying equipment for African Union peacekeepers here was shot down by a missile during take-off, killing the 11-person crew.

The United States has accused the Islamic group of having ties to al-Qaida. Yesterday, a White House report said that despite recent setbacks to Islamic radicals in Somalia, foreign terrorists are still able to find a haven there because of the country’s lack of governance, which contributes to a growing security threat throughout East Africa.

The report, submitted to relevant congressional committees, said several al-Qaida operatives have used Somalia as a base of operations, including the perpetrators of the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa and the 2002 attacks against an Israeli airliner and a hotel in Kenya.

“The individuals pose an immediate threat to both Somali and international interests in the Horn of Africa,” the report said.

The UN’s refugee agency said 57,000 people have fled violence in the Somali capital since the beginning of February, including more than 10,000 people who fled the city in the last week.

The figures were based on information provided by non-governmental organisations in Somalia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said.